Fred D's triathlon training group CLOSED (Page 13)

I weighed in at 131.  Still above what I went into the race as but coming down slowly.  I'll be happy if I get back under 130 by the end of the week.

At least a run on deck for this morning. 

Hi everyone,

It has bee a while since my last post. Things at work are going full throttle now that the warm air is hitting us and definitely my golf season has started, which means less time for s/b/r which really blows!

2.5 weeks ago the scale showed I was down 3 lbs. Since then I've not done much of anything other than watching what I am eating. It is so easy to slip and before you know it, the weight gain sneaks up on ya'.

I am back on the fitness wagon again- I swam this morning with the peeps from the tri group and then met Maureen for breakfast afterwards. Today I have my appointment with the Orthopedic Surgeon. I am sure he is going to give me all the details of what is in store for my knee. really not looking forward to it.

From the looks of it, I'll have to bypass the first two races and concentrate solely on Cozumel.

I have not had much of a chance to read and get caught up on the thread. Welcome to all the others who joined for the spring group. 

Here is a copy/paste from last bio.

 As I see the scale move upwards, I will be swimming as much as I can for now until I can run or bike.

Have a great day everybody!

thomas

"I am amphibious!" - 

Right handed- since I get off the car on the left. dismount and mount the motorcycle on the left, same for getting on/off the horse/mule/donkey, as well as the road bike. I unclip my left foot usually as I like to start with my right leg. If panic was to strike and I was going down, more than likely both would be off. 

I guess it might be different if I lived in Europe and drove on the right side of the road as well as driving a car on the right side, and getting out of the car on the right.hmm..

Newbie story- The first time I went out for a ride with a few other roadies, we all came to a stop sign and a car was coming. All others managed to come to a complete stop and they all remained in balance without unclipping and after the car went by, they started. I on the other hand, managed to come to a complete stop and managed to cow tip myself to the right while trying to unclip the freaking shoe. Literally I pancaked. 

Got 9.7 done running yesterday, it was a good run on tired legs, i averaged 9:15's or so.

I got almost 10 hours last week, which is 3 hours short of all of March

weight was 212lbs this am

gonna do a short 4.5 run tonight, aiming for 11-12 hours this week.

i unclip either foot, whichever is easiest, but i do prefer the left and i am lefty. I think that comes from cyclocross, where you dismount on the non drive side 95% of the time.

Morning all.  Weigh in today was 207.  Not bad considering the weekend I had, took a few liberties.  Decided to not run for a few days to give my hip a chance to resolve.  Getting better little by litte.

Trying to get back into the psot-race swing of things.  Saturday went with a friend to do probably the best climb in Los Angeles, Latigo Canyon.  Here's a pic from about 2/3 of the way up, very windy road up from the ocean.  9.1 miles, 2220 foot gain, ave grade 5.3%, max 11%

That's awesome Chris - wish I had any sustained climbs around me.  Here it is all short and usually steep - but I'm much better on something a bit longer.

Bagged the swim workout at lunch.  Not enough sleep yesterday, so I'm going to pass on it today.  I regret taking that approach, but I just need to get a lot done at the office as well.

I won't get to ride much at all this week as I fly out to my parents for a b-day celebration near the end of the week.  There I could have done some good climbing, but no time to bring a bike on this trip.

Weighed in at 155.8 this morning.  Down 1.4 pounds from last week.

Just a short 20 minute run and masters class today.  I got a good 9 hours of sleep last night.  Really needed that.

So sorry, here's my bio from Dec. appropriately edited

NAME: Chris Menjou, 45

STORY:  In 2004 I weighed 274, was never big as a kid/teen but depression, job, etc.etc.  Decided to lose weight and get in better shape for diving, started swimming.  Met some guys at the masters that did tris, slowly started riding/running.  First tri was 2005.  Added Olys in 2006, HIMs in 2007, and IMAZ in 2008.  I was progressing up the tri "ladder" and reached the IM pinnacle, sprints and Olys didn't interest me much. 

Just after my 2009 HIM the next year, I got sick and had to take the rest of the year and most of 2010 off.  I did few swims and runs, one offs, but my first tri back was a sprint Oct. 2010.  2011 was the comeback year, and I was content just to participate, did 14 races, including a HIM, an Oly, Alcatraz Challenge and a 4.8 mile OWS.  Raced mostly in the approx. 235# range.  Decided that 2011-2012, the best thing I could do for my running and riding was lose weight.  Started Sept at 235, weighed in this a.m. at 207.  Goal is to not be able to register as a Clyde.

Always thought I'd do another IM, and I still might, but right now it's not in the cards.

Biggest problem every year has been injuries of some sort.  Currently battling some hip muscular issues that I haven't yet found a solution for, that has dropped my running to zero.  I find the mental cyclical battle with injuries to be the toughest, as I can't run, get depressed, eat, gain weight, get depressed, etc etc

FAMILY STATUS: 2012 will by my and my wife's 20th Anniversary.  No kids.  One cat.

CURRENT TRAINING: Fall was a run focus and was going well, that's been basically non existent since Thanksgiving.  Trying to keep up the motivation to swim and bike still. 

2011 RACES: 2 10Ks, 2 Half marys, 2 aquathons, 1 sprint, 1 oly, 1 off distance almost HIM, 1 HIM, 2 ocean swims.

2012 RACES: Calif. 70.3 (5:38) Would to do:  Oly (April), sprint (June), 10K swim (Aug.) Alcatraz Challenge (TBD), Orangeman HIM 9/23.

WEIGHT LOSS GOALS: As above, currently at 207, would like to be sub 200. 

WHAT WOULD MAKE ME A GOOD MENTEE: I love training, racing, and everything triathlon, but have also learned that life needs balance.  Being sick made me realize that I could wake up on a Sat. morning and instead of biking with friends for 5 hours, I could get a coffee and take a walk on the beach with my wife.  It's OK not to be Type A.  That said, I'm pretty Type A , keep my logs up to date, love the metrics, etc.  I can offer info on swimming, and have a lot to learn about the bike and training with power.  

ALSO: As much as I like to go as fast as I can, ultimately that's not very fast.  I will never (likely) KQ or BQ, so I find the satisfaction in setting new goals, or trying different kinds of races (alcatraz swim/run, hopefully SOS someday, etc.)  I find I am enjoying "experiencing" racing more than "racing," if that makes sense.

I'll be watching these responses closely...trying to absorb as much knowledge as possible in preparation for my first IM in 2013. Would also like to add to Fred's question without hijacking...

Fred...describe the advantages/disadvantages/reasoning for the 140-miler and 90-miler, and how prepared you felt mentally and physically going into your races with that mileage in respective IMs.

Group...what was the longest training ride you did going into your first IM, and how prepared do you think you were for race day based on your long ride?

I haven't done an IM, but I'm an overall volume and training load kind of guy.  My school of thought is that long rides and long runs are to dial in pacing, nutrition, and mental toughness for race day.  But other than that...it doesn't really matter how you split up your ride distances, so long as your overall training load is there.

I would be very interested to hear the responses to see if that rule applies with IM.

For me personally, the longest bike race I've done is a 112 mile road race.  I trained over the summer for it...with my longest ride at about 90 miles.  Granted though, I was also riding 6x per week. 

My peak week was

Monday - Off
Tuesday - 43 miles
Wednesday - 50 miles
Thursday - 50 miles
Friday - 36 miles
Saturday - 85 miles
Sunday - 60 miles

Roughly 320 miles total, and 25,000 feet of climbing.  I found it much easier to build up total traing load this way than to try and build around one really long 130+ mile ride.  I know it's different for IM because you can't bike as frequently, and need to swim and run as well...so naturally more miles get bunched up with a long ride.  If I were to plan out an IM training plan...I think I would bike 4x per week, maxing at 120 miles.  Not because I wanted to get over the race distance...but because I likely want to peak at 250 miles for a week...and it would be tough to get more than 130 miles to fit into the other 3 days of riding.

Awesome picture!

It reminds me some of 2010 and 2011 I was on an extended work project out in Temecula and did a lot of climbing on the hills and mountains around there!  Incredible scenery! 

A couple of years ago I would have said there is a need to run close to a marathon distance as well as riding close to 112 or miles on a day. Since then I've been doing more of quality vs quantity. 

Quantity is definitely needed for volume build and load as the body needs to get use to the beating and mile load on both the run and bike. 

Last year I was limited to my training due to a lot of circumstances and with three months to go I only had a chance to train for 1 month leading up to the race. I concentrated on all hard efforts and only one long ride / week. My longest ride was 70 miles and climbed close to 8500 ft. I figured if I hit the hills and worked on them which were twice the climbing distance of Louisville, I would be fine.

My longest run was 16 miles in brutal heat and I was running 3x / week. I was biking 3x / week (including a long ride). I only swam 6 times leading up to Louisville. 

Everyone is different in how much they can handle and how hard they can push. 

I went to the Ortho Dr. and I have a scope surgery set-up for the 24th. I guess that takes me out for both Columbia and Eagleman and hopefully plenty of time to build for Cozumel.

Thomas

I have only done one ride each time longer than 112 for either of my IM's, but right at the 115 - 120.  Both times though had several at 90 - 100 and probably another 7 or 8 in the 70 mile range.

So far I have not chosen a plan yet for IMFL this year, I did the plan builder here on BT for Musselman for now and am looking around for alternatives.

To wear a wet suit or not, finally answered - http://fastatforty.blogspot.com/2012/04/wetsuit-effect.html

I... case the suspense is killing you, yes, wear it.